Machine for inverting containers



Feb. 12, 1952 w. SOMMER ETAL MACHINE FOR INVERTING CONTAINERS Filed Sept. 1, 1950 ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 12, 1952 CHINE FOR INVERTING CONTAINERS 1 Walter L.. Summer, Sterling, and Emmitt I. Leederxand- Cloyd L. Collins, Rock Falls, 111., assignors to The Borden Company, New York,

-..-,-N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 1, 1950, Serial No. 182,786

7 Claims. (01. 198-33) This invention relates-to a machine for in verting containers and the'like. v z The invention is particularly-useful in the inversion of jars, tumblers, and bowls and will be illustrated by description in connection; with the inversion of tumblers.

In the various food industries, it is required to wash, sometimes disinfect, and also dry the containers and then to invert the containers that have been processed. v

The invention provides aconvenient and effective manner of performingthese'operations with practically no breakage'and with speed-and certainty of operation. I

The invention comprises the machine described herein. More particularly, the invention comprises a machine in which a conveyor pushes the containers, mouth down, through the various processing steps of cleaning and then over the end of a support so that the containers fall at one end upon a cradle, the conveyor then-pushes the containers along the cradlefuntil they fall from the cradle to an elevator, the elevator raises the containers to the leveloi a second support or table and the conveyor then moves the container, now with'th'e mouth upffrom the elevator onto the table and away from the operation. Y r

The invention will be described in connection with the attached drawings towhich reference is made.

Fig. 1 is a side view of the machine partly broken away for clearness of illustration and partly in section. I Y

Fig. 2 is a view of the'machine at the'position of inversion of the containers and at a different stage of the inversion from that shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 at a later stage of the inversion.

Fig. 4'is a sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

The drawings are in part diagrammatic. 'Parts not illustrated in detail are conventional.

There are shown a support H) for containers l2 and a conveyor I4 with elements 16 in the form of spaced elements, such as wooden cross strips, for sliding the containers along the support in the direction of the arrows' of Fig. 1.

In their travel, the containers pass, one after another, and in spaced relation to each other, under the hood I8 and the additional ventilator 20. Means for contacting the insides of the containers with cleaning solution, water, steam or the like are shown generally'at A but are not described specifically herein; our invention is concerned with the inversion features of the machine and not with the washing or drying parts of it.

The support 14 has a terminus 22 adjacent to the position of inversion of the container and to a receiving or cradle member 24. This receiving member, at its nearest part, is spaced i 2 from the said terminus by a distance that is somewhat less than the height of the containers when in the upright position "shown on the support l4. spaced above the support 14 by a distance less than the shortest dimension of the containers l2 and the elements'are spaced at a distance apart that is greater than the upright dimension of the containers l2 on support l4.*

The container receiving member 24 is concave upwardly as shown in Fig. 4, the term concave including V-shaped. Also the receiving member which, in the preferred form is of the-cradle shape shown, has sloping ends 26 and 28. These facilitate the pushing of a container to the midportion of the cradle andfalling of the container from the said portion.

The support it) andtable 32 are generally horizontal. There is. no advantage in sloping them.. Also their upper surfaces are practically one level with each other'and with the upper part of the cradle member 24. a

The elevator includes the receiving platform 30 and at its down position is belowthe ,level of the cradle or receiving member 24. At the up position, the elevator is at the level of table32, so that the table registers at its end with the elevator at the raised position as shown in Fig. 1.

Conventional means not shown move the con- Veyor I4 over the support I0 in. the direction of the cradle, then past the cradlev andthe elevator and finally over the table 32. Theconveyor then continues to some convenient point not shown at which the containers are removed from the machine in conventional manner or pass under usual filling equipment. I

The inverting operation will be largelyfivident from the description of the machine that has been given. 7

Difierent stages in the operation are shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. 7

At the stage shown in Fig. 2 one container is just falling over the terminus. or end of the support [0. One of the conveyor elements 16 is in position to push this container to the-left as the elevator continues to move. Another, container is just falling from the sloped far end of" the cradle. l

In the next stage shown in Fig. 3, theone tumbler is raised on the sloping end approach to the mid-portion of the cradle. It will be seen that this container is clearing adjacent conveyor elements l6. Another container is raised at this stage on the platform 30 of the elevator.

In the nextstage shown in Fig. 1, the elevator has risen to position so that the conveyor ele ment I6 is at the stageof pushing the container to the left and from the platform of the elevator to the table 32. The elevator will stay at this position until the conveyor has pushed the container from the platform to the table 32 or'at Also the conveyor elements l6 are least so'much of the container to the table that the container will not fall backward to the right when the elevator is lowered in the next stage of its operation.

The driving means are conventional. It is important that the movement of the elevator be synchronized with the movement and spacing of the elements l6 of the conveyor. This is effected in any usual manner and the means for synchronizing are not considered as part of the invention. The synchronizing mechanism is so set that the elevator is at the down position when the container is falling as shown in Fig. 2 and returns to the upward position so that the elevator comes to be level with the surface of the table 32 just in advance of contact of a conveyor element IS with the container, as shown in Fig. 1..

The machine described is one that handles even fragile containers easily and rapidly.

The materials of construction may be those that are usual for parts of the kind described. Most of the parts are iron or steel. The upper surface of the support I!) or table 32 may be sheet metal such as Monel or aluminum. The elevator platform may have upon its upper surface an applied layer of impervious sheet rubber or other plastic.

The elevator mechanism includes a guide of conventional kind not shown to keep the upright part 34 in line with the element 36 of the frame 38 of the machine. 7

It'will be understood also that it is intended to cover 'all'changes and modifications of the examples of the invention herein chosen for the purpose of illustration which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim is:

A l. Amachine for inverting rigid food containers and the like comprising'a generally horizontal support for the containers in upright position, with a terminus of the support at the point of beginning of the inversion of the containers; a conveyor moving the containers one after another, on the support, the conveyor including spaced elements disposed above the support at a distance less than the smallest dimension of the containers; a container receiving member disposed beyond the said terminus to receive the containers as they fall from the terminus of the support, the' said member being spaced from the terminus at'a distance less than the vertical dimension of the containers on the support; an elevator for the containers beyond the position of the receiving member, the elevator at the down position being below the level of the said member, so that the containers fall from the said member to the elevator and in so doing invert themselves; a table 'at one end adjacent to and on a level with the'elevator in" the raised position thereof; means moving the conveyor and the said elements thereof over the said support, past the receiving member and elevator, and then over the said table so that the said elements push the fallen containers upon andthen off the said receiving member and eventually upon the said table; an elevator operating mechanism, synchronized with the said means, for lowering and raising the elevator, so that the elevator. is in the down position as the container falls from the said receiving member andisin the raised position just in advance of one of the said elements and remains at that position until the said element has pushed the container from the elevator onto the said table, the said: elements of the conveyorbeing spaced apart at a'distance at least equal to the vertical ill) dimension of the containers on the said support so that the containers, when pushed over the said terminus of the support, fall between adjacent ones of the said elements and upon the receiving member.

' 2. A machine as described in claim 1 the said receiving member being in the form of a cradle of shape concave upwardly.

3. A machine as described in claim 2, the cradle having an approximately horizontal mid-portion extending in the. direction of movement of the said conveyor and end portions that are concave upwardly and that slope downwardly from each end of the mid-portion, the sloping end in advance of the mid-portion serving to promote the pushing of containersin inclined position, after completion of theirnfirst fall, uponthe mid-portion of thercradle and thedownwardly sloping end beyond the mid-portion serving to promote the sliding and inverting of the containers as they fall from the cradle .to the said elevator.

4. A machine asdescribed in claim 1 the upper surfaces ofthe said support and table being in line with each other and with the upper part of the said receiving member upon which the containers fall after leaving the support.

5. A machine for inverting rigid food containers and the like comprising a generally horizontal support for the containers in upright position, with a terminus of the support at the point of beginning of. the inversion of the containers; a conveyor moving the containers one after another, on theisuport, the conveyor including spaced ele-- ments disposed above the support at a distance less thanthe smallest dimension of the containers; a container receiving member disposed beyond the said terminus ,to receive the containers as they fall from the terminus of the support, the saidmember being spaced from the terminus at adistanceles's than the vertical dimension of the containers onthe support; and a platform for receiving the containers after they fall from the receiving member. L I

6. A machine for inverting rigid food containers and the like comprising a generally horizontal support for the containers in upright position, with aterminus of the support at the point of beginning of the inversion of the containers; a conveyor moving the containers one after another on the 'support and beyond the terminus thereof, the conveyorincluding spaced elements disposed above the support at a distance less than the smallest dimension of the containers; a container receiving member disposed beyond the said terminus and at-about the same level, to receive the containers as they fall from the terminus of the support, the saidmember being spaced from the terminus at a distance less than the vertical dimension of the containers-on the support; and a platform for receiving the containers after they fall from the receiving member, the said platform being disposed beyond the said receiving member and at a level lower than the said memben 7. Themachine of claim 6 in which the said receiving member inclines downwardly in both its forward and rearward portions; so as to facilitate movement of containers over the forward portion onto the receiving member and over the rearward portion to the said platform.

WALTER L. SOMMER. EMMITT I. LEEDER. CLOYD L. COLLINS.

" No references cited. 

